This is for the birds

My nug and I have been here is Aussie land for just over a week now and we’ve been straight doing work! Don’t get me wrong, we’ve definitely been enjoying ourselves as well but we have been getting things done…or, attempting to anyway.

In our efforts to get settled into a comfortable life in time to enjoy our first Christmas as a married couple in a new home away from home, we got off to a quick start. We landed in Brisbane mid- morning and within 6 hours had purchased our very own campervan. Vehicle, check! Next on our list was get the hell out of Brisbane, because the traffic was insane, and head south to start looking for a place to live.

Nug has been the navigator and I have been the captain steering the ship. This is due to the unfortunate fact that the only lender campervan (until ours is ready to pick up) available was a manual transmission. Nug’s lack of confidence… well ability (his last attempt on a manual led to a meeting with a fence)… sticks me in the driver’s seat. I have now found myself on the other side of the world, driving on the wrong side of the road, steering from the wrong side of the car and shifting with my left hand. This is awkward in every way imaginable. None the less, we are moving.

Our mode of transportation is “Devilish”. This is her name due to the paint job she bares. Conspicuous is an understatement. We are regulars now at several campervan parks. Our neighbors are 60+ seniors who have all decided retirement heaven is a seedy cement park. Odd decision if you ask me, but most are lovely and extremely friendly people.

Aside from these retirees, we have also found ourselves among the birds. There are birds of every shape, size and sound imaginable. Mainly sound. In typical Ross fashion he has renamed the birds with much more deserving names such as R2 and Asian Crossing. R2 sounds like, yes you guessed it, R2D2. My best attempt at describing Asian Crossing is the sound it makes “Zzzzzzzzzzzrp, dit, dit, dit, dit, dit, dit, dit, dit”. The sound is similar to the alert some crosswalks make. Every time we heard the noise in Auckland crowds of people, mostly Asians were enveloping us…hence Ross’ choice of name for the bird. Yes, this is how we’ve been spending our free time. That and drinking boxed wine.